LA Rams learning NFL is a game of inches, and hours

The LA Rams were awarded former Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield on December 6, 2022. The Rams did not hesitate to bring him aboard and begin the arduous process of getting him instantly up to speed with their offensive playbook. He suited up and played the majority of the game for the Rams on Thursday Night Football on December 8, 2022.  If you are keeping track, that is less than 48 hours later.

The Rams were excited to bring Mayfield aboard. In 2021, the LA Rams needed help at running back and traded for RB Sony Michel. The Rams needed help at outside linebacker and traded for OLB Von Miller. The team needed help at WR and signed FA WR Odell Beckham Jr.

But this season, the need was a bit more urgent. Not only had the Rams decided to shut down QB Matthew Stafford for the season, but the team’s primary backup quarterback, John Wolford, was trying to fight through a concerning neck injury of his own.

Rams roster awarded QB

The team placed a claim on Baker Mayfield, at a time when the Rams roster was dangerously thin at the position. But due to the sparsity of NFL starting experience at quarterback and the injuries to multiple Rams quarterbacks, the decision was made. Baker Mayfield would play on Thursday Night Football.

What did that mean for this Rams team? Only this:

The LA Rams had not celebrated a victory in seven weeks, and even at the end of the game, the outcome was hard to believe. The Rams, a team that struggled to score points were down by 13 points with 12 minutes remaining in the game.  The only hope for a victory lay in the hands of a quarterback who literally has just deplaned hours before.

And yet, we witnessed a Rams’ rare victory speech in the 2022 NFL season.

The LA Rams learning that the NFL is a game of inches, and hours. It is only fitting that the high-stakes gamblers, the LA Rams, hit the jackpot with a quarterback who was outright released. It’s just one win. But it’s a symbolic and pivotal change in fortunes for an LA Rams team that spiraled out of control.

The win gives the LA Rams four wins on the season. If the New England Patriots travel to and defeat the Arizona Cardinals, the LA Rams will have the same 4-9 record. Just hours earlier, the Rams were running out of answers. Now? Some of the most difficult questions about this team just got answered.